They called it the end of the 1960s, but the Manson murders were so much more than that. Charles Manson and his ‘family’ had far bigger intentions for his actions. In his attempts to lay the blame on Black radicals, Manson was trying to instigate a race war, but instead ended up bringing an entire counterculture to its knees. In Love And Terror, Claudia Verhoven has stripped back all the noise that has surrounded the case (and Manson himself) since 1969, in an effort to give it more rationale.
The circus that has surrounded Manson and the events that night in Hollywood, have become legend, but at the centre of the case lies reals victims and while Verhoven does dive into the Manson backstory and culture of the time, she sidesteps all the usual interpretations of it, instead embarking on her own deep investigation.
But why, you ask, do we need another book on Charles Manson? Because Verhoven approaches this whole case with fresh eyes, which makes for compelling reading – and, in the process, has uncovered newly released material which was hidden from the public eye for years. If you thought you knew all there was to know about Charles Manson, trust me: until you’ve read Love And Terror… you don’t.
